WRITTEN IN FRENCH
The exhibition I Have a Family presents the works of contemporary artists of Chinese origin who settled in France during the 1980s and 1990s, at a time when China's policy of reform and opening-up and the end of the Cold War were drawing a new world order.
While their creations reflect with great diversity their migration journey and their reactions to a changing world, these artists forge in France a network of solidarity friendships, sharing similar experiences and destinies in the face of isolation, adversity, and sometimes racism. Their stories are singular, but the cultural and artistic convictions that drove them into exile, their common paths, their intellectual affinities, the relationships they forged, evoke a family.
The exhibition traces the trajectory of these artists, federated by Hou Hanru and Evelyne Jouanno, over more than thirty years, with the following dates of arrival: Yan Pei-Ming, Ru Xiao Fan, Chen Zhen, Jiang Dahai, Huang Yong Ping, Yang Jiechang, Shen Yuan, Wang Du, Du Zhenjun and An Xiaotong.
In three decades, these artists have developed a critical approach, invented innovative languages, contributing significantly to the transformation of the French and international contemporary art scene.
The catalogue presents a profusion of images (family photos, photos of artists on the international art scene, contemporary works, etc.) in eight chrono-thematic parts. Essays and an interview with the curators of the exhibition put into perspective the careers of these artists since their departure from China, their installation in France and analyze their contribution to the art scene. The catalogue also includes interviews with the artists on display as well as with collectors, curators, art critics and experts who have accompanied them.
Exhibition at the National Museum of the History of Immigration from 10 October 2023 to 18 February 2024
French
240 pages / 200 illustrations
Editions Rmn - Grand Palais / In partnership with the Établissement public du Palais de la Porte Dorée - Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration
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